7:44 PM Rocket lands next to a Kibbutz in the Shaare HaNegev region. No injuries or damage.

7:39 PM Two rockets hit the Shaar HaNegev area at 7:31 PM. No injuries or damage. New Color Red Sirens going off NOW at 7:38 PM.

7:22 PM Witness says Pisgat Zeev may not have been a terror attack, but that it looked like 2 people with guns who got into a fight with one another and pulled out weapons on each other.But there was also a terror alert near Pisgat Zeev, so we don't know if this is related or not.
7:14 PM Channel 2 Israel TV reports that yet another cease fire will be going into effect in the next few hours. Stay tuned (but don't get your hopes up)

6:50 PM One rocket lands in open area in Negev region. No injuries or damage reported.

5:30 PM Ongoing unconfirmed reports of a terrorist in Jerusalem, police have set-up road blocks in the Northern neighborhoods of the city. There is zero confirmation that a terrorist is running down the street in Pisgat Zeev, however there are police roadblocks going up...
5:17 PM Unconfirmed reports of an armed terrorist loose on in Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem. Witnesses say citizens are drawing weapons and joining police to chase him down.

4:58 PM Police announce that road 12 in the South is closed to traffic, and that checkpoints outside Eilat have caused a 20 kilometer backup on highway 90.

4:17 PM Minister of Internal Security Aharonovitch: We must be prepared for many days of escalation in the south... (Reshet Bet, Channel 2 Israel Radio)
4:08 PM Ynet: IAF attacked a Hamas police station in Northern Gaza.

4:06 PMYnet reports that Hamas government in Gaza is calling for a cease-fire from all the terror organizations in Gaza starting at 9 PM this evening.

3:55 PM Reports that the rocket attack minutes ago on Israel from Gaza was a phosphorous mortar shell.

3:49 PM Rocket lands in open area near community in Lachish region. No injuries or damage.

2:54 PM Almost 3 hours since the last rocket attack on Israel.Hoping it will remain quiet...
2:43 PMWalla reports that the cost of every single Iron Dome anti-missile rocket is $50,000. Since the terror attack on Israel last week, Israel use of the Iron Dome system has cost the Israeli taxpayer $1.2 million. With the cost of each Qassam rocket running at under $28, how long will it take Gaza to bankrupt our economy?

2:23 PM IDF Homefront Command issues stern warning to Israelis: Upon hearing color red warnings and air raid sirens, you must go to a secure location/bomb shelter. Do not attempt to take pictures of videos of the iron dome system in action, as you could endanger yourself. Do not post photos of the locations of rocket strikes, so as not to help the enemy better calibrate their rocket launches.

2:16 PM Jordan slams Israel for defending itself...refuses to do the bare minimum of condemning terror attacks on Israel.

"Jordan rejects and condemns Israel's military escalation and operations in Gaza that have killed civilians as well as Egyptian officers," Information Minister Abdullah Abu Rumman said in a statement carried by the state-run Petra news agency.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, "rejects any acts that target civilians," said Abu Rumman, who also acts as government spokesperson.

"The kingdom calls for an immediate halt to this dangerous military escalation in order to avoid repercussions that could threaten the security and stability of the region," he said. (Now Lebanon)

2:03 PMYNET reports of BeerSheva residents leaving to other parts of Israel to escape the ongoing barrages of Gaza rockets.

12:45 PM Last night while BeerSheva was attacked by rockets from Gaza, the "social justice tent protestors in Tel Aviv" held a protest march, expressing "solidarity" with the south "and Gaza." Stav Shapir, one of the protest leaders announced that the Israeli government was using the current escalation in the south to divert the public from the tent protests. They should protest in BeerSheva, not Tel Aviv.

12:38 PM IAF warplanes and IDF artillery sporadically attacking targets in the Northern Gaza strip. Reports of a hit on a Qassam launching squad in Beit Lahiya with 2 wounded.

5:25 AM Rocket alerts going off all night in Ashdod, Ashkelon and those areas. Rocket just hit Ashkelon a few minutes ago. Others apparently hit during the night.

12:03 AM Unfortunately, it looks like the Muqata Blog is going into war reporting mode. As I type this, the "Inner Cabinet of 8" is meeting at the Ministry of Defense offices in the Kirya, Tel-Aviv, to discuss Israel's response to the attacks over the past few days. The Inner cabinet includes PM Netanyanu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman, Finance Minister Yuval Steinetz, Interior Minster Eli Yishai, Moshe Yaalon, Benny Beigin, and Dan Meridor.

At 11:23 PM tonight, 2 more rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza, no reported damage or injuries.

Over 55 rockets were fired at Israel over Shabbat, including Ashdod, Ofakim (2 wounded including a 2 week old baby, a 9 year old and a 20 year old), BeerSheva, Beer Tuvia, Lachish, and Sharei HaNegev regions.

The number of wounded over Shabbat was a total of 16, with one fatality (one of the wounded is fighting for their life).

Israel Naval warships are current attacking targets in Gaza.

One again, Israel will need to fight not only against the terrorists in Gaza, but will need to fight for world opinion against the likes of Richard Goldstone, foreign government supported NGOs in Israel, and the likes of the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council in Scotland who side with the terrorists who attack Israeli civilians.

We urge you to share the security updates from the Muqata with your friends and family.

Shavua tov - a peaceful and quiet week.

Sincerely,

Jameel Rashid & Joe Settler
The Muqata Blog
www.muqata.com

Visiting Israel?Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!

35 comments:

Israel is going to have to ignore them and fight for her existence. In view of what is not happening to Assad as he murders his own people, Israel has every right to blast Gaza clean of Hamas. Otherwise it is the end of Israel and Jews.

Personally, I feel Israel has been quite gracious with the rebels who insist on occupying the territory that was rightfully won by Israel during war in self defense. No other country would deal so patiently with rebels as Israel have, and no other country would let rebels bent on destruction stick around this long. In the end, Israel will be rewarded.

Thought you might appreciate this little testimonial from someone commenting on my link to your blog on Facebook: "When anything happens in Israel, it's one of the first, and most reliable, places I go for news and information." Let's hear it for grassroots news reporting.

FYI your bitchy little jibe about the Social Justice protestors, you clearly didn't hear the reports about how many of them have gone down to the south to pitch up tents in rocket-range areas for solidarity. Will you be joining them?

To the commenter who was offended at my posting the pictures from last night's protest march, expressing "solidarity" with the people of Gaza, I suggest you read my posting from last week, "With Liberty and Social Justice for Some"

"4:17 PM Minister of Internal Security Aharonovitch: We must be prepared for many days of escalation in the south... (Reshet Bet, Channel 2 Israel Radio)"How nice of him to warn Israelis that they will continued to get bombed and murdered without a proper response or retaliation!!

Every single time Anonymous Troll comes along and attacks you for pointing out statements and positions taken by his friends on the Left, you then come along and bring links to the actual quotes his friends said.

That is not fair.

How is Anonymous Troll supposed to anonymously attack you in a hit and run, when you always have the facts on your side backing you up.

Anonymous Troll must find that very frustrating. Yet it doesn't stop him from trying to silence you from pointing out the bitchy remarks made by his friends. Anonymous Troll never seems to learn.

Just to clarify, the witness saw a lot of activity outside the mall and a lot of people running, as well as security forces, and got the impression was that something was happening, but the witness did not see any actual terrorist apprehended. And then the witness got on the train speeding away at best at 10 Kmh.

I agree with Jameel and Joe Settler. Abstract questions of "social justice" don't matter much if you're out in the open when a rocket is launched and you can't get to a shelter in time to save your own life.

Death is the great equalizer. My criticism of Israel is due to the government's inaction in taking lethal Arab violence against the country seriously. For what its worth, I have no sympathy for the Gazans. They brought this upon themselves.

Those who seek to destroy Israel need to be exposed to the full consequences of their philosophy. Israel should stop pretending the Arabs still want peace. Their behavior says the opposite!

Can someone explain Israel's reasoning to me? I'm in my late 20's and my whole life I've grown up with Israel getting attacked/bombed/SCUD/ and when or even if Israel decides to strike back the other side calls for a cease fire. Is there a historical precedence for this? Is there some sort of logic I'm missing? Even if the logic is twisted and idiotic, can someone explain it to me?